Clothes-line fastener



(No Model.)

F. MEGKBL. CLOTHES LINE FASTENER.

.7 J m m J W PATENT rrrcn'.

FREDERICK MEOKEL, OF BROOKLYN, NEXV YORK.

.CLOTHES-LINE FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 540,361, dated June 4, 1895. Applic tion fil d geptember 26, 1894. Serial No. 524,142- (No model.)

To osZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK MECKEL, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Clothes-Line Fasteners,- of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists ofan improved clothes line fastener and relates to that class in which one end of the clothes line is permanently attached to the fastener and the other end is rernovably secured thereto.

The object is to provide such a device which will be simple and effectual and in which the parts cannot be unintentionally separated from each other and also the free end of the line can be quickly secured or released.

A practical embodiment of my invention is represented in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front. view of-the fastener when in its open position, the parts being shown in position to receive the free end of the line for looking it. Fig. 2 is a vertical secof a clothes-line, indicating the manner ofv tion on the line w m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa front view of the fastener in closed or locked position, showing also a portion of the two ends fastening the same. Fig. 4 is a front view of the back plate, with the front plate removed; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line y y of Fig. 1.

A designates the back plate and it is provided with an elongated loop portion a, to which one end I) of the clothes line B is securely fastened. This loop also serves as an opening for the insertion of the free end of the clothes line. The back plate is further provided in its front face with a concentric groove or recess a, for receiving the end I) of the line B. This front groove or recess a is about the depth corresponding to the size of the clothes line B at the loop a where it commences and it gradually decreases in depth as it extends around the center until, when it reaches the loop portion again, it is quite shallow.

An abutment a is formed on the loop portion a in position to engage a stop or log on the front plate, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth. The loop portion ais preferably bent at a slight angle from the back plate A. A

The plate A is further provided with a pair of laterally extending lugs dic adapted to be grasped by a person to facilitate the locking and unlocking of the clothes line.

A screw bolt 0 is screwed into the back plate A and projects a short distance beyond the face of the plate in position to be engaged by the front plate. This screw bolt is secured against rotation in the back plate in any suitable manner.

D designates the rotary front plate and it is provided with two uprising ears or thumb pieces 01,61, whereby a better grip may be obtained in screwing the plate down. This front plate has a screw threaded engagement with the screw bolt 0, so that, as the front plate is rotated in one direction, it will approach the back plate and, when rotated in the opposite direction, it will recede from the back plate. This front plate has an opening (1 therethrough.

When the fastener is in its open or unlocked position, the opening d in the front plate corresponds with the inner end of the loop a so that the free end 2) of the clothes line may be easily inserted through the loop a and opening 01 I One wall of the opening 01 is struck up a short distance, as shown at 01 so as to obviate any tendency on the part of the wall of the opening to cut the line as it is drawn around in the groove by the front plate.

A stop d is formed on the back of the front plate and it engages the abutment a on the back plate. This stop serves to prevent the unscrewing of the front plate from engagement with the screw-bolt. It also serves to prevent the turning of the front plate the wrong way to fasten the line B. Furthermore, it is so located that, when in contact with the abutment, it aligns the opening and the loop, thereby facilitating the insertion of the free end of the clothes line.

The operation of my fastener is as follows: The opening d and loop a are brought into alignment and the free end of the clothes line is inserted a short distance therethrough. The front plate is then turned, throwing the line into the recess a, and, as the recess grows shallower along its length and the front plate approaches the back plate as it is rotated, it will be seen that the line is very tightly clamped between the two plates. It is preferable that when the line is clamped securely it will extend along the groove nearly the entire distance around the groove, thereby forming, or nearly so, a loop.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts herein described, without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself strictly to the structure herein set forth, but

What I claim is- 1. In a clothes line fastener, the combination with a back plate, of an elongated loop portion thereon, a screw bolt rigidly secured to the back plate, the said back plate having a groove or recess therein extending from the loop portion around the screw bolt concentric therewith, the said groove or recess growing smaller as it extends from the loop portion, and a rotary front plate having a screw threaded engagement with the screw bolt, said front plate being provided with an opening over the recess in the back plate and coinciding with the inner end of the loop portion when the fastener is in its open position,

whereby the end of the line may be readily in sorted through the said loop portion and opening, substantially as set forth.

2. In a clothes line fastener, the combination with a back plate, of an elongated loop portion thereon, an abutment upon the back plate, a screw bolt rigidly secured to the back plate, said back plate having a groove concentric with the said bolt therein, a rotary front plate having a screw threaded engagement with the screw bolt and provided with an opening therein for the reception of the end of theline to be fastened, and a stop on the rotary front plate engaging the abutment on the back plate to prevent the said rotary plate from being rotated in the wrong direction and also serving to align the opening in the rotary front plate and the inner end of the loop in the loop portion, whereby the line to be fastened may be readily inserted therethrough, substantially as set forth.

FREDERICK MEOKEL. Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, GEORGE BARRY. 

